Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) Earns Buy Rating from Benchmark

Benchmark reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) in a research report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $165.00 target price on the technology company’s stock.

PLXS has been the topic of a number of other reports. StockNews.com upgraded Plexus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on Plexus from $144.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of Plexus in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Plexus from $136.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $159.00.

Plexus Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PLXS opened at $170.49 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.52 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a 50-day moving average of $162.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $141.25. Plexus has a fifty-two week low of $90.18 and a fifty-two week high of $172.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The technology company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.59 by ($0.10). Plexus had a return on equity of 9.51% and a net margin of 2.82%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Plexus will post 6.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Plexus

In other news, CEO Todd P. Kelsey sold 1,500 shares of Plexus stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.39, for a total value of $234,585.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 74,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,615,241.69. This trade represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Patrick John Jermain sold 5,045 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.13, for a total value of $722,090.85. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 24,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,521,284.26. This represents a 17.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 34,091 shares of company stock worth $5,377,960. 1.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Plexus

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quarry LP boosted its stake in Plexus by 573.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 229 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Plexus in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Plexus in the third quarter worth about $51,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Plexus during the third quarter worth about $55,000. Finally, USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in shares of Plexus in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Institutional investors own 94.45% of the company’s stock.

About Plexus

Plexus Corp. provides electronic manufacturing services in the United States and internationally. It offers design, develop, supply chain, new product introduction, and manufacturing solutions, as well as sustaining services to companies in the healthcare/life sciences, industrial/commercial, aerospace/defense, and communications market sectors.